During this week's National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, York Regional Police is celebrating its telecommunicators who annually handle more than 300,000 911 emergency calls and more than 360,000 non-emergency calls.
Telecommunicators are the invisible first responders. They are the critical link between citizens and emergency responders and provide the community with access to the help they need as they answer emergency calls, dispatch first responders and equipment and render life-saving assistance, a police news release stated.
“Our call takers and dispatchers deal with people in some of their darkest hours and the job requires emotional and mental strength,” said Chief Jim MacSween. “We’re proud of our telecommunicators and applaud their professionalism and commitment to our community.”
They are the lifeline between someone who needs help and those who provide it. Telecommunicators must remain calm while interpreting the callers’ needs, make split-second decisions as they dispatch assistance and communicate effectively with responding officers and other emergency services personnel, sometimes under extremely difficult and stressful circumstances.
Created in 1981, the national week is an opportunity to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of telecommunicators and to thank them for their service, the force said.
"Please take a moment this week to post a thank you to our call-takers and dispatchers on our social media channels and we’ll be happy to pass it along."
